I’m Not Spending a Penny On My Wife For Christmas, and She’s Going To Love It

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I’m not spending a penny on my wife for Christmas this year, and she’s going to absolutely be thrilled about it. With the holidays approaching, conversations of gift ideas are being had between spouses, family members and friends. My wife and I were having a discussion about tasks that needed to be done yet to prepare for hosting Thanksgiving at our home. She got a little off topic, listing other less Thanksgiving critical tasks she wanted to have done. Sensing I was about to go into my usual speech about prioritization and doing only the things absolutely needing completion by […] Read more »

What It Costs To Own Man’s Best Friend

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We brought our dog, Cooper, into our home ten years ago. He was just one in a litter of puppies a friend of a friend was giving away. We offered her $20 but she wouldn’t accept it. Now I understand why; She knew how much it costs to have a dog! If you are contemplating getting a dog for the family then be prepared to increase your annual budget by at least $1,200. That may sound expensive at first but it’s actually on the low end of owning a pooch. Here is a breakdown using our dog Cooper as an […] Read more »

A Parent’s Job Is Never Done

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I heard an interesting comment at a wedding over the weekend regarding the current generation. An acquaintance was talking about how his brother was working with some recent college graduates, and how they work really hard on the job, but when they go home all they do is play video games. He described them as intelligent and hard working, but lacked the common skills of shoveling a driveway because all they did in their off time was play games. I laughed a little bit, shrugging it off as your typical older generation looking down on the younger generation sort of […] Read more »

Debt and Cleaning

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 Today’s post is from my friend Prudence, who hails from Prudence Debt Free.  I had the honor of having her guest post once before, and I’m very excited to have her back.  So please, give her a warm EOD Nation welcome! Should we hire house-cleaners again? A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with two colleagues about how we used to hire house-cleaners. “Do you hire cleaners?” I asked Cam. “Of course we do!” he answered. As a working couple with two small children, he and his wife found it made life manageable to have the services of a […] Read more »

Get Ready For Cough And Cold Season With #HealthySavings Coupons From Pfizer

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It’s the beginning of November, and as a resident of the great state of Minnesota the temperatures are cooling off.  As people spend more and more of their time indoors and in close quarters to each other, cough, cold, and flu symptoms are more of a when than an if.  It’s time to stock up on all the products we need to find relief from runny noses, scratchy throats and any other ailment that the winter months throw our way.   Naturally I started checking ads searching for sales and coupons and found this month’s ad from Walgreens featured #HealthySavings […] Read more »

Misplaced Dad On A Pre-Teen Shopping Trip

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Today is officially my daughter’s twelfth birthday, but we celebrated it over the weekend.  From our observations, as well as by asking her directly, the thing she wanted the most for her birthday was clothes.   This was not surprising in the least, as my little girl, who’s biggest care in the world used to be wondering when her hair would be long enough to be put in a ponytail, has transformed (seemingly) overnight into a young woman who stares endlessly into a mirror primping and futzing with her hair, even applying some makeup before heading to the bus stop. The […] Read more »

How Skype Saved Me $1,400

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On a late August afternoon, my wife and two kids drove to the Steele County Fair where my son was to go to his first demolition derby. I went to the airport, boarded a plane, and flew to Tucson, Arizona. I would be gone for a week during my first business trip. It was also the first time I would be away from my young family for an extended period of time. When I returned home, my family met me at the airport. Standing by the baggage carousel, my 18 month old daughter just stared at me. I kept glancing […] Read more »

How Your Financial Decisions Can Impact The Family You Love

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How many financial decisions do you make in a week? From what you buy, to how you pay for it, every time you make a financial decision, the consequences can affect your family. Single? You’re not excluded, because although some of your decisions may not affect your future family, many will, and it’s up to you to recognize the impact of those decisions. Unfortunately, many Americans find themselves suffering from “crisis living”, something I used to be very familiar with. With too much debt and no savings to think of, living paycheck to paycheck is a gruesome reality. The Consequences […] Read more »